Aftermath
by Aang'sGreyEyes
Summary: Aang's violent past still haunts him but Katara and future plans give him hope. Kataang oneshot.


The dry grass crunched under his feet as he walked barefoot across the field. Smoke billowed from black scars strewn in the earth. Over the few hills in the landscape, continuing down to the sea, he could see bodies scattered haphazardly all over, lying in odd, misshapen ways. Various weapons and vehicles littered his path, stained with blood or charred beyond recognition. He stepped cautiously through the small fires whose crackling sound was the only noise that remained in the aftermath. The burning sunset cast an awkward shadow across his vision.

Stopping in no place in particular in the expansive space, Aang turned, the chilling breeze rustling his saffron robes. His grey eyes grew suddenly wider, horror etched across his young face.

"No... no..." he breathed. The scene of a past battle had been horrible to behold, feeling helpless that he could do nothing for the people lying at his feet, but the sight that met his eyes now caused him to drop to his knees. In front of him the village of the Southern Water Tribe burned. The small tents and humble houses were smashed and decimated, bodies of children and families clad in the blue of their culture, broken and bleeding. Aang reached a shaking hand to his face and squoze his eyes shut willing the scene before him to move backward in time. He hadn't been there to stop this, any of it. And now it was too late.

"Aang!" His eyes flew open at the sound of his name. Now Toph's home city lay before him, the destruction even more devastating than he could imagine. His heart ripped apart at the sight. The buildings crumbled and the war zone appeared full of dust and clouded by smoke.

"Aang!" He heard it again, though this time much more strangled. He saw in the street, downhill from where he was standing, the bodies of three people, one of which who reached a hand blindly for him before it went limp.

Aang ran.

He ran down the hillside, skidding and slipping on the grass, through the gates and down the street. He stopped dead when the bodies came into clear view. Sokka, Toph and Katara all lay lifeless and burned and bleeding. Aang's breathing became labored and he choked and sobbed for his friends, the people he loved.

His eyes settled on Katara and he took in her unmoving form. Tears poured from his eyes as he gazed at her still face and then he noticed something. His gaze traveled down her body and he stopped breathing when he saw her abdomen A choked cry escaped his lips. Her stomach was round and caused her dress to billow away from her body. Aang screamed.

Sweat poured down his face as he sat bolt upright in his bed, the sheets falling away from his body to reveal his lean and sinewy torso. His breath came in erratic gasps, his hand clutched at his chest and his heart pounded beneath it. A tan hand reached out to touch his tattooed arm.

"Aang," she whispered. He jumped slightly and then turned his panicked eyes upon the woman who had been lying next to him, her pregnant stomach visible through the sheet that covered her. "Aang it's ok, it was just a dream," her soothing voice was tired, yet tense, the look of anguish on his face causing her heart to ache. "It was just a dream," she repeated tugging on his arm to get him to lie back down. He closed his eyes and rubbed the salty streaks from his face. Katara placed a comforting hand on his back, careful to avoid the scar there, and rubbed her cool fingers along his spine.

"I'm sorry I woke you," he said, shaking the images from his mind. His hand had settled on her stomach and he could swear he felt the heartbeat of his child inside, much calmer than his own.

Katara was used to this, Aang often still had nightmares about the difficult events in their past, but it worried her nonetheless when she stared into the extremely expressive eyes of the Avatar and saw all of his pain and the feelings that he still struggled with only in his darkest moments burning there, scars torn anew.

"It's alright Aang, I understand," she paused for a long moment. "Was it about the baby?" Aang didn't say anything. She almost had to hold back a chuckle.

"Aang it will be ok. The world is healing now, things aren't the way they were back then."

"I know that," he sighed. "I guess I'm just nervous, that's all. My mind does strange things to me. The nerves and memories of my past are getting mixed up with the ones from the present." He groaned and tightened his hold on the sheet over Katara's stomach. "It's so frustrating," he huffed.

Soft rain tapped on the roof of the house they were staying in. Ba Sing Se had become almost a second home for them and Katara had grown to like the serene green and stone of the city as well as the Earth Kingdom people and the welcome the Avatar and his friends received whenever they were called upon. Traveling was sometimes hard and moving around so much sometimes took it's toll, but honestly, Katara wouldn't have it any other way. This way of life was one she had known since she was fourteen years old. There was no other way for it to be because wherever Aang went, she would always go, it had been that way for years. Besides, they had friends all over the world. They both felt that instead of thinking that they had no permanent home, that they had many.

So here in their Ba Sing Se home, the rain twittered on the roof and they lay together in their bed, in the cool sheets. Aang's hand relaxed it's hold. He turned to her suddenly, his eager eyes no longer as troubled, though still clouded with the emotion from his dream and his cheeks still stained with tears. His vibrant expressive eyes startled her and she gasped in surprise.

"What are we going to name it?" Katara's eyebrows knitted together.

"It?"

"Well we don't know if it's a boy or a girl Katara. I didn't mean for it to sound like that. Seriously, what name should we choose?" Katara settled back down into her pillow, nuzzling it and turning on her side.

"Well I think it's going to be a boy," her tone just barely hinting at annoyance which she wasn't surprised Aang didn't pick up on. She closed her eyes and she felt Aang shift and lie on his side next to her, she could feel his warm breath as he spoke again.

"I think it's a girl," he whispered. She opened one eye. He was gazing lovingly at her abdomen again. Her heart skipped a beat at the softness of his face. She was so full of love for this man and she smiled when he turned his grey eyes on her.

"Ah," she gasped, her hand flying to her belly.

"What? What is it?" The fear was clear in his voice, his nightmare briefly flashing once again through his mind.

"Oh. It's nothing. The baby just kicked is all." She grabbed for the azure colored arrow on his hand. "Here, feel." His eyes widened in wonder. He never got tired of feeling his child moving and writhing already so full of life. Katara stifled a yawn, her arm stretched back over her pillow, grazing the sheer curtains that hung from the window behind their bed. Aang followed her arm and gazed out into the courtyard beyond the window. Ba Sing Se lay peaceful and dark grey, silent save for the falling rain. Katara turned and breathed deep, sleep returning to her quickly.

Aang stared out of the window. The pale light from the early dawn casting his pale skin in a calming light. The city was safe and peace emanated from the earth, he knew it. The entire world was breathing deeply and he knew the balance was in place. His crooked grin played momentarily across his still young and vibrant features before he too yawned and joined his young wife in sleep. His hand once again coming to rest naturally on his child.


End file.
